Charging apparatus.



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vP. H. DOUGLAS & YI. D. THOMAS.

GHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00123. 190s.

Patntea ot.19,19o9.

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STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL H. DOUGLAS, 0F EAST CLEVELAND, AND IVOR D. THOMAS, OF CLEVELAND,OHIO, ASSIGNORS .TO THE `VlELLlVIAl\lSEAVEIR-MORGrAN COIVIANY, OFCLEVELAND, OHIO,

A CORPORATION 0F OHIO.

CHARGING APPARATUS.

asma/ i.

Specification o'f Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

Application led. October 1908'. Serial No. 456,003.

o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PAUL H. DOUGLAS and lvon D. Tnoams, citizens of theUnited States, residing at East Cleveland and Cleveland, respectively,in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Chio, have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Charging Apparatus, of which the following` isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to charging mechanism and more particularly tothat class of mechanism used for charging and drawing ingots from aheating furnace or soaking pit. i

The mechanism herein described is designed for use in connection withoverhead traveling cranes and has for its object'to produce a highlyefficient and powerful construction for operating the gripping` aws ofthe ingot-engaging tongs; to simplify and improve the mechanism forhandling the 1n.

gots; and to provide a construction of mechanism that is readilyaccessible for repairs, replacements, etc. i

Generally speaking, the invention comprises the elements andcombinations thereof set iorth in the accompanying claims andillustrated inthe accompanying drawings, l'irming part hereof, wherein-Figure l is a sectionalelevation of a vertical charging crane having ourinvention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of thetongs and the operating mechanism associated therewith, the tongs beingshown in open position; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the tongs inclosed position, part of the operating mechanism being shown in dottedlines; Fig. 4l is a top. plan view showing a portion of the chargingcrane with our invention applied thereto; F ig. 5 is a longitudinalsectional view upon the line a-b of Fig. 2, certain portions of themechanism being removed; and Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are details of thetongs-operating and carrying mechanism, which will .be later described.

Generally speaking,v the form of crane type of crane is representedgenerally at l, having its opposite outer ends provided with wheels 2adapted to run upon parallel rails 3.

Upon the transverse girders of the trolley l is mounted a frame 4Lwhich, as shown in F el, is rect-angular in cross section although thecross sectional shape of this frame may assume other forms if desired.The frame is composed of structural iron members and is indicated in thedrawings as formed from angle irons. Within the frame and locatedsubstantially in the central portion thereof and carried thereby is ahollow mast 5 within which is housed a shaft 6. The tongs are suspendedfrom the lower portion or extension of the shaft 6, and at the upperpart of the frame 4 is mountedv the mechanism for operating the shaft 6and the mast 5.

lithin the mast 5, at the lower end thereof, is an internal collar 7which is securely fastened to the inner walls of the said mast. Nithinthis collar is a second collar 8 which is secured to the collar 7 bymeans of keys 9.V lithin the collar 8 and journaled therein is the neckl0 of the tongs-operating member ll. The upper end of the neck 10 isscrew-threaded and is engaged by a screwthreaded collar 12. Between thecollar l2 and the top of the member 8 is an anti-fric- 'tion thrustbearing represented generally at 12a. which will permit the rotation ofthe neck of the member 11 within the collar 8. The outside diameter ofthe collar 12 and of the thrust bearing 12a is a trifie less than theinside diameter of the collar 7, so that upon removal of the keys 9, thecollar S and the attached collar l2 of member 1l and thrust bearing 1Qilmay be removed through the collar 7.

As will be. seen from the drawing, the tongs-operating member l1 isconstructed as a casing the lower part of which flares outwardly andassumes in cross section the form of a .parallelogram with the cornersrounded. as shown more particularly in Fig. Upon -the inner walls, atopposite ends of the member l1, are racks 13 and 13,

used to carry the mechanism herein described i whose function will beexplained later.` is immaterial. The trolley of an ordinary l The shaft6 is continued by means-'of an extension 14, the shaft 6 and extension14 being secured together by means of a sleeve 15 which isprovided withan internal screwthread, the ends of the members 6 and 14 being alsoscrew-threaded so as to engage with the screw-threads upon the interiorof the sleeve. The sleeve 15 forms a stop with the neck 10 to limit'thetravel of the shaft 6 in a downward direction and thereby limits theamount of opening of the tongs. This stop is adjustable and thereforeprovides a limited adjustment of the opening between the jaws of thetongs. A key 16 occupies a key-way formed in the members 6 and 14 andsleeve 15 to lock these parts together so that they will move as a unit.

The lower portion of the member or extension 14 is formed with a doublerack 17 and at the extreme lower end of the member 14 are projections 18which extend at right angles to the member 14 from opposite sidesthereof.

Upon the projections 18 are mounted the tongs-carrying frames 19, whichare mounted wit-hin the casing 11, are nearly of the full length of saidcasing and assume the form shown in Fig. 7. The frames or members 19 areformed with journals 20 which are engaged by the projections 18 upon themember 14. At the upper ends of these frames 19 are formed pairs ofinwardly projecting ribs or anges 21. At the lower ends of the frames 19are additional journal bearings 22 and 23. Pairs of parallel lugs 24 arealso formed upon each of the members 19 near the sides thereof andbelowthe journal 20. The outer side of'each member 19 is provided with ribs19'CL adapted to engage rabbetsv 25 which Vare formed upon the innerwalls of the member 11, these rabbets being so formed as to permitvertical movement between the members 19 and the member 11. Frein aninspection of Figs. 1 and 7 it will appear that two such members orframes 19 are employed, located respectively on opposite sides of theshaft extension 14.

In the journals 22 and 23 of each of the members 19 are pivotallysecured the tongs 26 and 27. These tongs are formed as bell era-nklevers, the lower portions or jaws of which are each provided with aprojection 28 adapted to engage an ingot. The upper part or operatingarm of the tong 26 is bifurcated, as indicated at 26 in Fig. 5, whilethe operating arm of the tong 27 is formed as a single arm, as indicatedat 27 in Fig. 5, the arm 27 being adapted to pass between the forks ofthe bifureated arm 26, as clearly shown in said fi ure. The outer endsof the arms 26 and 2 are formed with half bearings, as indicated at 28,and engage with pins 29 and 36 which are carried by the lower porshownin Fig. 8, the upper part of the said link being formed with parallelarms 30 which are spaced apart, and the lower portion being formed as asingle arm 30. Through the upper ends of the arms 30 extends a pin 32,which pin projects beyond the sides of the said arms. The lower arm 3()balso supports the pin 29 which projects beyond the sides of the said armand forms a support for the forks or arms 26 of the tong 26. Each arm30a is provided above the single arm 30') with a lug 37, forming, withthe pin 29, a retainer for one of the branches of the bifurcated arm 26.

Upon the pin 32 is mounted a toothed member or gear 33 which is adaptedto rotate upon the pin 32. This toothed member is of sufficient diameterto mesh with the rack 13 and with one side of the double toothed rack 17formed upon the lower end of the member 14.

The construction of the link 31 is shown in Fig. 6, it being formed withparallel arms 31L connected at points preferably below their center by abridge 34. The arms 3la are provided at their opposite ends with alinedopenings through which project pins 35 and 36. The pin 36 is engaged bythe arm 27 of the tong 27. Upon the pin 35 is mounted a toothed memberor gear 33a which is in all respects similar to the other toothed member33 shown in Fig. 8. The toothed member 33a engages with the rack 17,upon the side opposite to that engaged by the member 33 and also withthe rack 13 formed upon the inner side of the ,casing 11.

The projecting ends of the pins 32 and 35 extend between and engage theribs 21 which are formed upon the members 19, as heretofore explainedand as shown in Fig. 8. By this construction the toothed members orgears 33, 33a are always held in operative relation to the racks 17, 13and 13, but are compelled to move in a vertical direction.

The lugs 24 which are formed upon the members 19 are curved, as shown inFig. 7, being curved on arcs described from the center of journals 22,23, the space between each pair of lugs being sufiicient to receivetherebetween the end of a pin 29 or 36 and the radii of the arcs beingequal respectively to the distance from the center of one of the tongsjournals to each side of the halibcarl ing formed in its outer portion.In assembling, the links are elevated until the pins 32 and 35 enterbetween the appropriate pair of lugs 24 and the outer ends of the tongsarms are inserted, by a rotary movement, between a pin (29 or 36) andthe lugs 37 or bridge 34, the outer end of each tongs arm being roundedto facilitate this insertion.

tions of links 30 and 31 respectively. The ,l The tongs shaft or pin isthen inserted into construction of one of these links, 30, is l thejournal 22 or 23. In disassembling, the

links are elevated in like manner` and are prevented from swingingaround their upper pivots as a center during the removal of the tongs.

At the upper end of the frame 4 is the operating mechanism for the mast5 and shaft 6. The shaft 6 at its upper end is formed square in crosssection and engages a square bore in the hub of the gear 38, which isoperated from suitable motor mechanism to rotate the shaft 6. The upperend of the mast 5 is sleeved on the hub of gear 38. Surrounding theshaft 6 is a collar 39 which is fast thereon. Below this collar is asecond collar or stop 40 surrounding the shaft and permitting the saidshaft to move freely within the collar. At one end this collar isprovided with a projecting bifurcated arm 41 which engages with a guide42 projecting inwardly from the mast 5 and preventing the rotation ofthe collar 40. Projecting from opposite sides of the colla-r 40 aretrunnions 43 to which are connected the lower ends of links 44, as willbe seen in dotted lines in Figs.4 1 and 4. At their upper ends theselinks are pivotally secured to arms 45,

which in turn are secured upon the rockl shaft 46 so that they will beraised or low ered as the shaft 46 is rotated. Shaft 46 is caused torotate through gear connections 47 with suitable motor mechanism (notshown). The shaft 6 is made in a single piece from the upper end thereofto sleeve 15, which permits its easy removal from the other parts, sothat in case of breakage it will only be necessary to remove the collar15 and the collar 39 in order to remove the entire shaft. By virtue ofthe squared portion at its upper end, the shaft 6 vmay be readily turnedby means of the gear 33, and may also be raised and lowered through thehub of the gear 38 by means of the collar 39 and associated liftingmechanism without breaking its connection with said gear, enabling thetongs to be shifted as occasion may require to grip an ingot.

The parts 14 and 19 constitute what may be termed a tongs-carryingdevice while the part 11 constitutes what may be termed a tong-operatingframe or member.

The frame 4 is provided with the usual sheaves 48 for hoisting ropeswhereby the frame and the attached mast and ingothandling mechanism maybe raised and lowered.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows The entire crane is movedto a position so as to be vertically above the ingot it is desired tooperate upon. The shaft 6 and extension 14 are raised so that themembers 19 occupy their highest position with relation to the inclosingcasing 11, as is shown in Fig. 2.v The entire mechanism comprising theframe or casing 4, shaft 6 and mast5 are then lowered until the members19 rest upon the top of the ingot. The mast 5 is then raised, carryingwith it the member 11 which will cause the toothed members or gears 33,33'1 to rotate upon the spindles 32 and 35 through the motion impartedto said gears by the racks 13, 13 upon the member 11. The gears ormembers 33, 33L will also travel upon the double rack 17 formed upon theextension 14 in a direction toward the top of the rack and in so doingwill carry with them the links 30 and 31. This takes place while theextension 14 and rack 17 are stationary, being supported through themembers 19 upon the top of the ingot. The raising of the said links 30and 31 will cause the lever arms 26 and 27 to be raised so as to swingabout their bearings 22 and 23. This will cause the lower ends of thetongs 26 and 27 to approach each other and grip the sides of the ingotto which they are opposed. The continued movement of the mast 5 willraise the entire mechanism and the ingot held bctween the tongs.

hen it is desired to release the ingot, the entire mechanism is lowereduntil the ingot rests upon the platform or other place where it isdesired to deposit the same. Continued lowering of the mast 5 will causethe gears or toothed members 33, 33L to rotate and to travel along therack 17 in a downward direction, thereby lowering the links 30 and 31which in turnwill lower the arms 26 and 27 and cause the tong jaws 26and 27 to move about their pivots in a direction to open the jaws,spreading them apart and thus releasing the ingot, leaving the parts inthe position shown in Fig. 2.

It will be noticed that the tendency of the tongs to grip the ingot isproportional to the weight of the ingot itself, for as the mast 5 israised the tendency is always to raise the ends of the arms 26 and 27 ofthe tongs, which can have no other effect than to cause the jaws 26 and27 to exert a greater gripping force upon the ingot and, the greater theweight of the ingot, the greater will be this force, for the greaterwill be the tendency of the mast 5 when raised to elevate the levers 26and 27 to a higher position.

It will be seen further that a single shaft carries the tongs androtates the same about a central axis. This point is of greatimportance, both as to simplicity of construction and efficiency ofoperation.

Having thus described our inventioil, we claim: j

1. The combination of a tongs-operating member or frame, atongs-carrying shaft, a collar on said shaft, links pivoted to saidcollar, a rockV shaft, and arms projecting from said rock shaft andpivot-ally connected with said links.

2. In a charging apparatus, the combina- 'member carried thereby, and atongs-carrywith an upwardly extending neck, a tongstion of a hollow masthaving a tongs-operating member, a tongs-carrying shaft mounted in saidmast, a rock shaft having one or more arms rigid therewith, a linkcarried by each of said arms and projecting within said mast, means forrotating said shaft within said mast, and a connection between said linkor links and said shaft arranged to permit the rotation of said shaft.

3. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating member,a tongscarrying shaft, a gear mounted on said shaft and reclprocablewith respect thereto, a col` lar sleeved on said shaft, a stop for saidcollar, means engaging said collar to prevent the rotation thereof, andmeans connected with said collar for raising and lowering the shaft.

4. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a hollow mast having atits lower end a tongs-operating member, a tongs-carrying shaft withinsaid mast, a collar sleeved on said shaft, a stop on said shaft engagingsaid collar, means engaging the collar to prevent the rotation thereof,means connected with said collar for raising and lowering the shaft, andmeans for rotating said shaft.

5. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a hollow mast, atongs-operating member carried thereby, and a tongs-carrying shaftwithin said mast, said shaft comprising an upper and a lower section,and a sleeve connecting said sections.

6. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a hollow mast, atongssoperating ing shaft mounted within said mast and reciprocabletherewithin, said shaft comprising an 'upper' and a lower section havingtheir adjacent ends threaded, a sleeve having an internal thread mountedon the threaded ends of the shaft sections, said sections and saidsleeve Vhaving keyways, and a key mounted in said keyways.

7. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating memberprovided with an upwardly extending neck, a tongscarrying shaftprojecting through said neck, said shaft comprising an upper and a lowersection, a member adjustably connecting said sections and adapted toengage said collar when the shaft is lowered, and means for raising andlowering said shaft.

8. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating memberprovided carrying shaft projecting through said neck, said shaftcomprising an upper and a lower section, a member connecting saidsections and adapted to engage said collar when the shaft is lowered,and means for raising and lowering said shaft.

9, In a vcharging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operatingmember, said mem ber having a pair of racks therewithin, atongs-carrying member within the former member and having its oppositesides provided with racks, tongs pivoted to the latter member and eachprovided with an operating arm, a link connected to each of said arms,and a gear connected with each of said links, each of said gears beinginterposed between a rack on the former member and the op* posed rack onthe latter member.

10. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating memberhaving a pair of racks therewithin, a centrally arranged tongs- Carryingmember provided on opposite sides thereof with racks opposed to theformer racks, a gear interposed between each rack on the former memberand the opposed rack on the latter member, a link depending from each ofsaid gears, and a pair of tongs pivoted to the latter member and eachhaving an opera-ting arm connected to a link.

l1. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating memberhaving a rack, a tongs-carrying member provided with a rack opposed tothe former rack, a

-gear interposed between said racks, a link connected to said gear, anda tong pivoted to the latter member and having an operating armconnected to said link.

l2. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating memberprovided on its opposite ends with racks, a tongs-earrying devicecomprising a centrally arranged member provided on its opposite sideswith racks opposed to the racks on the tongs-operating member and a.pair of frames, each frame being provided with a pair of guide ways, theguide ways of one frame being opposed to those of the other, gearshaving each a pin mounted in the opposed guide ways of said frames andeach meshing with a rack on the tongs-operating member and a rack on thecentrally located member, a link depending from the pin of each gear,and a pair of tongs journaled between said frames and each having anoperating arm connected to a link.

13. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating memberprovided with a rack, a tongs-carrying device comprising a memberprovided with a rack opposed to the rack on the tongs-operating memberand a pair of frames, each frame being provided with a guide way, theguide way of one frame being opposed to that of the other, a gear havinga pin mounted in the opposed guide ways of said frames and meshing withsaid racks, a link depending from the pin of said gear, and a tongjournaled between said frames and having an operating arm connected tosaid link.

14. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operatingmember, a tongsoperating device mounted within said member andcomprising a pair of opposed frames and a member connected thereto forraising and lowering the same, a pair of tongs pivoted to said framesand having operating arms projecting into the space between the same,devices connected with the tongs arms and arranged to be operated by`relative movement between said members, and means for moving one of saidmembers relatively to the other.

15. The combination of a tongs-operating member having a rack, atongs-carrying member having a rack, a pair of frames carried by thelatter member having opposed guides, a gear meshing with said racks andhaving a pin mounted in said guides, a link pivoted to said pin, and atong having an arm connected to said link.

16. In a charging apparatus, the comb-ination of a tongs-operatingmember and a tongs-carrying member mounted within the former member, thelatter member comprising a shaft and a tongs-carrying extension, saidextension and said shaft being detachably connected.

17. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a hollovT mast, a collarremovably secured therewithin, a tongs-operating member comprising aframe having .a neck projecting within and above said collar, anantifriction bearing on said neck engaging said collar, and atongs-carrying member extending through said neck.

18. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a hollow mast, a collarWithin and rigid with the lower end of said mast, a

second collar removably secured within the former collar, atongsoperating member comprising a frame having a neck projectingthrough and above the second collar, an antifriction bearing secured tosaid neck and resting on the second collar, said bearing and said secondcollar being of less diameter than the internal diameter of the firstcollar, and a tongs-carrying member projecting upwardly through saidneck. i

19. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operating membercomprising a frame and an upwardly projecting neck, a shaft, atongs-carrying extension of said shaft projecting through said neck, anda sleeve connecting said shaft and said eX- tension and adapted to beengaged by the upper end of said neck.

20. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operatingmember, a tongscarrying member within the former member, a pair of tongspivotally connected to the latter member and each having an arm providedwith a rounded end and having in its lower face a half bearing, a pairof links within the tongs-operating member each having a pin adapted toengage the half bearing on a tong arm and each having arm-retainingmeans spacedl from said pin, members connected with said links andadapted to be reciprocated within the tongs-operating member by relativemovement between said member and the tongs-carrying member, and meansfor causing such relative movement between said members.

'21. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operatingmember. a tongscarrying member within the former member, a tongpivotally connected to the latter member and having an arm provided witha rounded end and having in its lower face a half bearing, a link withinthe tongs-operating member having a pin adapted to engage the half.bearing on the tong arm and having a lug spaced from said pin, a memberconnected with said link and adapted to be reciprocated within thetongsoperating member by relative movement between said member and thetongs-carrying member, and means for causing such relative movementbetween said members.

22. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-operatingmember, a pair of tongs-carrying frames within the said member and eachhaving vertical guides, toothed members having pins extending betweenthe opposed guides of said frames, links depending from said pins, apair of tongs pivoted between the frames and each having an operatingarm, a pin carried by each link and adapted to engage a tongsoperatingarm, curved spaced lugs projecting from the latter frames and adapted toreceive said pins, racks carried respectively by the tongsoperatingmember and the tongs-carrying member for rotating said toothed members,and means for causing relative movement between said members.

23. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a pair of tongs, a shaftconnected therewith, means for rotating said shaft, a rock shaft, an armconnected with said rock shaft, and a connection between said arm andthe first mentioned shaft for raising and lowering the same, said firstmentioned shaft being rotatable with respect to said connection.

24. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a hollow mast, atongs-operating member carried thereby, a shaft within said mast, tongsoperatively supported by said shaft, a projection on said shaft, and aprojection carried by said mast and adapted to engage the formerprojection to limit the movement of said shaft.

25. In a charging apparatus, the combination of a tongs-carrying memberand a tongsoperating member each provided with a rack, a gear meshingwith said racks, a tong connected with said gear, and means for movingone of said members relatively to the other.

26. In a charging apparatus, the combinatin of a tongs carrying' memberand a tongs operating member, each yprovioleol .with a rack, a gearmeshing With said racks, a link Carried by and movable With said gear, a

y 5 `tongeonnecteol -Witli said link, and means for moving one of seidmembers relatively to the other.

In testimonywhereof, we hereunto aix our signatures in the presence oft'vvo Witnesses.

PAUL H. DOUGLAS. IvoR D. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

J. B. HULL, A. J. HUDSON.

